Ten thoughts after the Chicago Bears improved to 2-0 in preseason with a 20-19 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday night at Soldier Field.

1. If the Bears were hoping for some clarity in the backup quarterback battle Thursday night, they’ll have to look ahead. It’s a good problem to have as Jimmy Clausen and Jordan Palmer were both effective in relief of Jay Cutler.

It’s to the point now that a final decision probably will not be made until after the fourth exhibition at Cleveland when the reserves will log heavy playing time. But we might be able to connect some dots when we see who follows Cutler next Friday at Seattle. The starter will likely play the entire first half and could possibly get some action in the third quarter. Who relieves Cutler will likely be telling.

Palmer was first off the bench last week and Clausen followed Cutler against the Jaguars. Clausen’s outing was plagued by some technical problems with the headset in his helmet. His numbers were solid as he completed 11 of 15 passes for 94 yards. A deep pass over the middle intended for Josh Bellamy was deflected and intercepted by safety Josh Evans, and coach Marc Trestman indicated the headset issue on this play might have prevented the offense from being in the best position possible. Clausen actually got to play one series with the starting offensive line. Trestman said that was to get the line additional work more than anything else.

Palmer directed two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to deliver the win. He called it fun and credited the players in the huddle with him after completing six of nine passes for 73 yards.

For Palmer, the dynamic shifted June 5 when Clausen was signed. Until that point, Palmer was the odds-on guy to be the No. 2 job. There really wasn’t a serious challenger.

“Yeah, adding a guy changes it,” he said. “We had Jerrod Johnson here and we went from four to five but at the same time the goal is the same whether someone else or here is not. That goal is to every day be locked in. You have the stuff you need to get better at and the stuff you need to take advantage of. When the coaches say they are going to take it one game at a time in the season, in the offseason it is one day at a time. For me, I have had some good days and some days that I would want back.”

He’s probably going to need some good days in the next two weeks but he knows that much.

Trestman said he wanted to reserve comments until taking a good look at the game film. Again, who follows Cutler against the Seahawks could be pretty telling.

“Those guys are playing well, battling,” Cutler said. “It’s probably going to come down to that last preseason game. They both practice well. They’re both over-coming adversity in practice from time to time. They’re preparing really hard. I’m glad I don’t have to make the decision.”

2. Brandon Marshall made his biggest news of the offseason on national television when he announced during an appearance on “The View” that he was signing a contract extension with the Bears. Marshall must have enjoyed the spotlight. He’s signed on with Showtime to appear on “Inside the NFL” every Tuesday during the season, and announced the news Thursday via his Twitter account, writing “Why not? #trailblaze.”

Perhaps his bosses Marc Trestman and Phil Emery could come up with a few ideas for why not but Trestman seemed OK when asked about it following the game.

Thought 1.....are you kidding? There is no question who the backup quarterback is. Cutler gets 7, Clausen plays for half of the game scoring 0 and Palmer plays for one quarter scoring 13. There's no need to play Clausen anymore....the backup question is clear. Why do sports writers in...

What it means is a flight to and from New York every week. The show tapes during the day on Tuesdays. It’s quite a step up from the Sunday night show he did locally with NBC-5 last season. Now, Marshall will be seen around the nation now on a panel with host Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, Boomer Esiason and safety Ed Reed, who is on the street. That makes Marshall the only active player on the program.

The concern for the club has to be how Marshall will handle a weekly road trip on his day off. It happens. Players travel on their off day from time to time. They go away and get back in a hurry. This means Marshall will be on the go weekly and you have to imagine he will be diligent in show preparation so you’re talking about a pretty serious commitment.

“I trust Brandon,” Trestman said. “I trust him to make a decision that was in the best interest of the team first. I know Brandon, and I know he’ll do that. I have complete faith the team will always come first.”

Marshall has been pro-active in working with teammates in the offseason, gathering them in Florida for what probably are as much bonding sessions as anything else. It’s hard to imagine how committing to be in New York every week during the season puts the Bears first but if Marshall can pull it off and show up ready for work on Wednesdays with ample rest, it’s his off day to do as he chooses.

“Football has always come first for him,” Trestman said. “I believe he’ll work it out to where it won’t distract him from doing his job.”

3. Shaun Draughn was the first back to get action behind Matt Forte for the second straight game. He’s been listed as the No. 2 on the depth chart that is worth about as much as the paper it is printed on. But Draughn has bounced around enough to know he hasn’t nailed down anything just yet.

“I don’t have the No. 2 job so I don’t have it to lose,” he said. “I’m gunning to make the team. No. 2 or No. 3 it doesn’t matter. When I make the team, I will help wherever they want me.”

Draughn carried the ball three times for 33 yards and caught two passes for 12 yards. A 14-yard reception was wiped out by a holding penalty against left tackle Jermon Bushrod. He’s clearly ahead of fourth-round pick Ka’Deem Carey right now even though the 26-year-old Draughn doesn’t have a whole lot of NFL experience to draw from. He spent three games with the Ravens last season and played in 16 games with the Chiefs in 2012 when he had 59 carries but made 24 receptions.

“I don’t know,” Draughn said when asked why it hasn’t worked out better elsewhere. “It just didn’t. As far as the way I am thinking now, I am just a little more confident in the way I play, being comfortable in an offense I actually know now. It shows.”

4. The Bears started with the pairing of Ryan Mundy and Danny McCray at safety again with rookie Brock Vereen and Adrian Wilson coming next. The guess here is that combination gets altered next week at Seattle when chances are good Chris Conte will be cleared to play.

I think Conte is going to have a shot at nailing down the free safety job and definitely an opportunity to win a roster spot. He’s still around for a reason and he has 40 starts of experience under his belt. Mundy has made some nice plays and Vereen has had a few moments but I don’t know that any of the safeties have started to run away with a starting job. There certainly haven’t been many wow plays and that goes both ways. There also have not been terrible breakdowns that plagued the back end of the defense too often in the second half of last season.

McCray was credited with four tackles in press box statistics but 2012 was the only time in four seasons with the Cowboys he was a regular contributor on defense. It’s a little hard to imagine him settling into a starting job. I have to figure Conte or Vereen wind up playing alongside Mundy. We just haven’t seen Conte enough after three days of practice.

5. I wrote about it in the column for Friday’s edition but the return game is a real issue and coach Marc Trestman more or less admitted as much afterward. The team hasn’t gotten production in two games and there isn’t a viable explanation in my mind for Eric Weems being used ahead of Chris Williams last week. Weems is 29 and he’s done the job in the NFL. The Bears have to know what he is as a returner. Williams is the unknown and now he’s day-to-day with a mild right hamstring pull. If Williams can’t do it, there is some roster work to do because there aren’t any exciting solutions in the building. The Bears have gone from Devin Hester to who-knows-what entering the third preseason game.

Thought 1.....are you kidding? There is no question who the backup quarterback is. Cutler gets 7, Clausen plays for half of the game scoring 0 and Palmer plays for one quarter scoring 13. There's no need to play Clausen anymore....the backup question is clear. Why do sports writers in...

“It’s tough to tell,” Trestman said. “Tomorrow I could give you a better assessment. We certainly didn’t’ see much in the return game. We had the turnover, but more than that we haven’t seen anything in the return game. It’s been pretty much a catch and a stop, so we’ve got to look into that as well. We went into the night trying to get more clarification to where our core eight players would be. And with our return game, I’m not sure where we are. I’ll have a better idea tomorrow.”

6. Right guard Kyle Long returned to start but right tackle Jordan Mills has yet to see preseason action. He used the word “hopeful” a couple times when talking about the prospect of returning to practice soon as well as playing next Friday at Seattle. The time missed is starting to add up and he’s been in a walking boot since sitting out the exhibition opener.

“It takes pressure off my (left) foot,” Mills said. “It’s a precaution and we’re taking it slow. I am a 320-pound man putting massive force on that foot trying to block 300-pound people. You have to be careful on it.”

We’ll see where the Bears go this coming week in terms of a medical decision for Mills. He said an X-ray a little more than week ago delivered good news. It’s certainly possible they could be checking him out again soon.

7. Tough blow to see tight end Zach Miller go down with a left foot injury. He was in a walking boot after the game and the Bears are expected to know more on Friday. Miller not only excelled in the preseason opener with two touchdown catches but he had a solid training camp and looked like he was making a strong case for a roster spot.

Matthew Mulligan made a team-high four catches for 39 yards with one of them going for a gain of 23. He’s a much different kind of player than Miller, a converted college quarterback. Mulligan is a blocking tight end but the Bears are impressed with the way he moves. He’s not a big producer in the passing game and had just two catches all last season in New England. He has 16 catches in 65 career games.

“I am not going to be a guy that is going to catch 40 or 50 balls a year but I think what it does is shows them, ‘OK, here is the guy we know can block and does that well, but when thrown to him he will also be able to do that too,’” Mulligan said. “It shows your worth a little bit more. I can catch.”

The Bears also used him lined up in the backfield so he has some versatility there and might be able to take some of the snaps that were devoted to Eben Britton as a sixth offensive lineman last season. First, he has to make the roster.

8. Cornerback C.J. Wilson made it through final cuts to the opening week roster last season and an interception in the third preseason game at Oakland might have aided his cause a little. He’s hoping a pick that sealed this game will help him too after intercepting Stephen Morris with 27 seconds remaining.

Wilson was clutching the football as he left the locker room after the game. He was taking it directly to his father.

“The Raiders are his favorite team and last year I was going home after I found out I made the team,” Wilson said. “I was going to give him the ball personally and I got to the airport and someone had taken the ball from me. This one is not leaving my hand.”

It’s never a great sign when a player fighting for a roster spot is essentially with the third string at the very end of a preseason game, but Wilson has top speed and if he can catch the eye of the coaches on special teams, perhaps he can battle his way onto the 53-man roster.

“This interception can only help but I still have a lot to prove,” he said. “I have to keep focused and keep grinding and hopefully I can continue to make more plays like that throughout practice and some more preseason games to really get some attention. Right now the depth chart is fluid. Hopefully I can catch their eye.”

9. The Jaguars have been pretty consistent talking about Chad Henne being their starting quarterback this season and allowing Blake Bortles, the third overall pick, to sit and learn. But if Bortles keeps performing well, they’re not going to be able to keep him on the sideline for too long. I understand wanting to bring him along the right way and not rushing it. The offensive line looks like it might have some issues. Left tackle Luke Joeckel did not play well. The Jaguars could use help at pretty much all the skill positions. But Bortles (11 for 17, 160 yards) looked smooth, threw the ball well and moved the second offense. He’s going to have to get significant starting time this season. There’s nothing wrong with learning on the fly.

10. Scouts from 12 NFL clubs were in attendance at the game. Represented were the Bucs, Chiefs, Cowboys, Eagles, Jets, Lions, Packers, Raiders, Ravens, Redskins, Steelers and Vikings. The Bucs, Cowboys, Lions, Packers, Raiders, Redskins and Steelers were all present last week. CFL scouts from the Montreal Alouettes, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Toronto Argonauts and Winnpeg Blue Bombers were also in attendance.

10 a. Credit Jon Bostic with a terrific play when he blew up Jacksonville left tackle Luke Joeckel and stuffed running back Toby Gerhart for a 4-yard loss on a third-and-1. That was instinctive and explosive.

10 b. Backup center Brian de la Puente said he went back and watched the tape of when he was rolled from behind last week against the Eagles. “Boy, I am lucky,” he said to only have a mild MCL sprain. “To come out of that with just a few weeks I am very happy.” The hope is de la Puente will be rolling before the regular season begins.

10 c. Defensive end Trevor Scott looked good again. He’s got legit speed and is being used with the first unit on special teams by Joe DeCamillis. Scott looks like the fourth end on this roster right now.

10 d. Go ahead and hand the punting job to Pat O’Donnell. He averaged 48.7 yards on three punts and the Jaguars managed one return yard. Tress Way struggled again and the Bears are not going to cut a draft pick. What remains to be seen is the snapping competition between Brandon Hartson and Chad Rempel. Hartson was paired up with O’Donnell after working with Way last week.

Thought 1.....are you kidding? There is no question who the backup quarterback is. Cutler gets 7, Clausen plays for half of the game scoring 0 and Palmer plays for one quarter scoring 13. There's no need to play Clausen anymore....the backup question is clear. Why do sports writers in...

Bears receiver Brandon Marshall will be taking on added responsibility off the field this season. Beginning in Week 1, Marshall will be moonlighting as an analyst for Showtime’s popular “Inside the NFL” series.

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